Design

The Lumsing battery pack with its self-titled Harmonica design wins little praise for its looks: the glossy black plastic looks and feels cheap, whilst the fake brushed aluminium (more coloured plastic) across the front only further defines that role in the budget market. Looking more like a USB hub, this is a device of utility, but no form. Who cares what it looks like though?

The inclusion of a nice felt case is welcome – the plastic is going to get scratched, fast.

Also in the package is a small micro-USB cable, in white. No AC adaptor is included, but you can charge the battery either through a standard USB port on a computer (slower, limited to 500mA) – or any other USB AC adapter you own should be suitable (faster, 1.0 – 2.1 A).

The micro-USB cable can of course also be used to charge your Android devices, so it’s handy to be able to keep just the one cable in the bag.

In terms of size, it’s a bit thicker, a bit taller, and a bit heavier than most smartphones – though not as wide. It should fit in your pocket just fine, but not at the same time as anything else.

Specifications

Size: 5.43x 2.32 x 0.82 inches

Weight: 354 grams

Battery Type: Lithium Ion

Capacity: 10,400 mAh

Function

It’s a simple, cheap device that does what it says on the tin. Two output ports are provided – one for lower 1 amp devices (older Android phones), and another for 2.1 amp devices (typically Apple devices and tablets) – and at full capacity it’ll provide enough power to fully charge an iPhone at least 5 times over. There’s over-voltage, over-current , and short-circuit protection built-in – as you’d expect from any modern charger found on Amazon. The package features a slew of safety approval symbols for European and American testing, so you can alleviate any safety fears you have on that front.

Charging is initiated by pressing the single button.

A simple 4 count of blue LEDs provides immediate feedback on how much power is left, or flashes to indicate charging. They’re not visible in bright sunlight though, so do check the smartphone or tablet itself to see if it indicates charging status.

Testing showed it took approximately 1 hour 45 minutes to fully charge an iPhone 5 in the 2.1 amp socket. My Nexus 7 recognised the charger as “AC” source (also on the 2.1 amp socket), and went from an initial 17% charge to around 90% in 2 hours, at which point the Lumsing battery depleted, and shut off automatically – not surprising, considering the Nexus has a whopping 4,325 mAh internal battery and the battery pack had already been used for a few iPhone charges at this point. Throughout charging, the battery remained slightly warm to the touch but not uncomfortably so, and testing would appear to show the total capacity is around 10,000 mAh.

Charge retention was good – after leaving it for a week without use, it doesn’t appear to have degraded at all, though obviously I haven’t had enough time to test this conclusively. Most batteries will almost certainly lose their charge if left for too long – and some will even refuse to charge again once that happens. I don’t imagine this device is any different, so as long as it’s in regular use or you remember to top it up, it should always be there for a rainy day.

Should you buy the Lumsing Powerbank?

The Lumsing 10,400 mAh portable battery pack is not a fancy device: it promises only one function and two charging ports, and it delivers upon that promise – at an affordable price.

Ultimately though, there’s an abundance of similar devices on the market at similar price points – there’s nothing outstanding about the Lumsing battery pack in particularly, so you may find yourself making a choice on looks alone.

MakeUseOf recommends: For this price, you’d be silly not to have one for emergencies – but do shop around if you’re not keen on how it looks, as you will find many similar alternatives.

Phone battery don't last whole day. I have Nokia N900, I run android and maemo both on it but if we switch between OS or play webOS emulated games on it battery will get low in 30min. I hope to win this powerbank.

Now days everyone should definitely get one of these portable charges as the battery does not last that long , which I am sure everyone agrees with. Seems to be very clear since we have passed those days when most of the Nokia phones used to go on for days with a single charge and now days smart phones just last for a day or less. My phone (Samsung galaxy S4) last for a day max depending on the usage.

I need a portable battery bank,because I have more than one electronic device to charge eg: cell phone,iPad. The battery on my phone lasts 5-8 hours with my normal usage,less if it's on a 3g network. Thanks for the giveaway and the opportunity to win!!!

I have to say the Nex 5 does a good job making it through the day. During travel and when out in the field is where I suffer. A decent battery pack could keep my phone and Note 10.1 charged no matter where I'm at. Especially one with good output and a big battery.

I need a battery pack because it's a good to go when the battery of my phone is dead and need to charge it really quickly to make a call or send a text. My phone can last 3 days with normal use but much less if I use it continuously :(

I got a Samsung Note II and I leave in the morning and need to have 3g almost all day for my work. I spend nearly all my day in the marina so naturally there aren't many places I can charge my phone. I got a solar charger from ebay for around 10 pounds but to fully charge my battery it requires 8 to 10 hours, and that is with direct sun on it, so it sucks quite much and I still get home with my phone dead.

Since rooting and upgrading the ROM on my Samsung Note II to Android 4.4.4, my battery lasts like 2x longer. I've tried external batteries but they rarely charge the phone the just seem to slow down the discharge. I'm hoping this battery lives up to the hype.

This device would help me out a lot as on a good day i can squeeze about 8 hours of life out of my battery before needing to find an outlet to charge it again...I happen to live on my phone. I imagine this could charge my phone about 4 times with a full capacity.

i need this because i am always on the go and I can not always plug my cell phone up to charge it and trust me my phone's battery literally sucks it dies in less than 3hours even on low use. So i would be very thankful to you if i get selected for this power monster

I'm doing most of my work and day job from my smartphone and sometimes it's hard to stop and recharge my phone at a cafe or something similar so a battery pack is most welcome and great to have! Thank you!

my both phones dont last charge for more than 20 hours, its especially a headache if you go out on a trip, when it gets switched. this charger might help me to regain the charge, even for my ipod too..

With 3 phones, sometimes I am faced with a sudden need to charge more than one phones on the go. My phone usually last about 24 hours if not less. The 10400 mAh capacity of Lumsing Powerbank will certainly enable me to be more mobile.

With 3 phones, sometimes I am faced with a sudden need to charge more than one phones on the go. My phone usually last about 24 hours if not less. The 10400 mAh capacity of Lumsing Powerbank will certainly enable me to be more mobile.

Living in typhoon prone country, it is very important to have a battery pack because i want to ensure that when emergency comes, i can easily communicate with my family. Thank you for this great opportunity. :D

My phone last one day, depends on the usage, but I need powerbank because I always forgot to charge at night.

And P.S: good to switch at Gleam widget coz Punchtab create issue not only here but other site running Punchtab widgets. For example, my account in Twitter is block because of to many follow and unfollow activities.

I don't necessarily need one but my hubby does. He runs his business with his phone and he just purchased his first smartphone! We all know how smartphones eats battery time. I think it is a great price too.

My battery lasts for almost 10 hours with medium usage, ie: some texting and browsing, some 5 minutes gaming sessions while waiting for something or someone, and the usual phone calls. I could use a battery pack for 'rainy' days as I'm sometimes travelling.

I have an iPhone 5. I needed my phone to come up with a bus route home on one late night. Needless to say, couldn't rely on my phone for that since the battery was about to die and I ended up stranded after a failed attempt of trying to manage some bus transfers on my own. Luckily, with the very last bit of battery life I did have, I managed to call for a ride home. Phew. I really need this for those kind of situations.

My smartphone battery doesn't seem to last a day. Also, recently, we've had a number of black outs, and tis good to have a battery back up, when the power's out for hours and the phone battery's on it's last minutes.

I could really do with a portable battery pack - my phone's battery struggles to make it through a full day (it was completely out by about 16:00 today) so the ability to top it up when I'm on the move would be great.

I have an android device with 2300mah battery but it only last for around 4hrs on heavy usage. A powerbank would be helpful specially that I'm almost always out for around 10-12 hrs away from a power source to charge my device.

I found out during a 30-hour power outage during Atlas last year how important it is to have an alternative power source for my phone. My smartphone was my sole source of information with no internet connection and being surrounded by 7-foot drifts. Winter will be upon us again soon, and I do not want to be caught without a way of charging my phone again.

This is exactly the thing I'm looking for! My phone's battery life isn't that great.. So having something like this will really be useful when I'm outside and my phone's battery level is critically low.

Something like this came in handy when I was visiting my sister at Christmas. In a house full of relatives, it was easier to charge by plugging in and setting in my briefcase rather than trying to jockey for a place on an available outlet.

My Google Nexus 4 runs out in about 6 hours if it's doing things like using its GPS, display, music, etc. So if I'm visiting a new (for me) city where I do lots of walking in unfamiliar places, as I did in Rome last year, I cannot count on the phone the way I should. (In Rome I was listening to Rick Steves and using Google Maps to find my way.)

I have intermittent cell reception where I live and it is easy to run down my phone battery because it searches for service fairly often. The battery pack would help when I am working outside away from a wall charger.

This would be awesome. I have to charge my iphone every day. I just got an iphone 5s, and so my existing battery, which plugged into the bottom of my 4s will no longer work. Since this is USB, it will work for any of my devices, including my Android tablet.

I actually bought a similar item a few weeks back and I'm disappointed by its performance. Though it's only a 2200mAh battery, it should be sufficient to fully charge my phone at least once... I can't even charge it for half my iPhone 5's battery capacity. Its LED lights don't work properly (they indicate incorrect charging statistics) and it produces a foul smell when charging... Went to the store with it, they won't refund it and claim that it works as intended. It used to work nicely the first few days but now I just feel like I wasted my money and I could use a new one. Mine's from a different manufacturer though so maybe this one doesn't have said problems.

I don't currently have a battery pack this size, it would be nice. My battery is usually down to 30% or less by lunch time (~4 hours). I have to make sure I remember to charge it before I leave work. It would be great to have on weekends when I am out and about town.